Page 142 of Jonas

I glanced over at Derrika. She was right. She grinned back.

Zane went on. “But here’s where we got it wrong. It’s not the Chinese.”

Derrika looked back at Zane and scoffed, “It’s not the Chinese?”

“It’s not just the Chinese,” Nebraska corrected. “Penny, why don’t you explain?”

“Six months ago, I broke the encryption on a new protocol. When that happens, the system is kicked back and new parameters are assigned. Type 1 security is always evolving and changing. It’s not a design, assign, and forget. Modern wars aren’t fought on the battlefield, they’re fought over radio waves, satellites, networks, and transmitted data. He who controls the airwaves controls the flow of information. There is never a second when the US isn’t under relentless cyberattack.”

Penny stopped and shook her head as if she realized she’d gone off track. “Sorry. The encryption I broke was on a packet of documents from a CIA field agent warning that the Russians were being fed highly classified intel. The report was more than twenty pages, which included his unnamed source at the Russian embassy confirming what the case officer had learned from a Russian agent in Poland. There was nothing in that report that gave me concern. Nothing I haven’t seen dozens of times. But when I took the report to Ryan, he was…nervous. Thinking back on it, it was the only time in all of my years working with him, he questioned me about what I’d read and reminded me of my oath.”

Zane’s face was set to murderous. His issue with the Russians was legendary. They could also cloud his judgment, his dislike was so extreme.

“Did the report say what intel they were being fed?” I inquired.

“Titans Point,” Penny whispered.

“The NSA surveillance hub?” Derrika mused. “But they went after the NSA through the Pentagon. That doesn’t make sense if they wanted Titans Point. Why not just go straight to the source?”

“No. The Titans Point you’re talking about is the old AT&T building in New York. That’s not the actual surveillance hub. It wouldn’t be smart to have all the intelligence the NSA has collected stored in a place that’s widely known on the internet.”

“So… that place isn’t real?” Derrika pushed.

“Sure, there’s an NSA presence there. Sure, they run surveillance out of the building. But that’s not the true location of the hub.”

“Is there anything that’s actually real?” Derrika asked the million-dollar question.

“If it’s information the Russians are after. If they want to know everything we know, all the stuff that they don’t know, they’ll find it at Titans Point. And where they’ll find the location of Titans Point is through the Pentagon. The rest of the intel will be a bonus. But the gravy, that’s the Point.”

My gaze swung to Zane. “Are you sure about this?”

“Kira’s connecting dots as we speak. But until the situation is completely under control, we’re staying the course.”

“If it’s the Russians who want the true location of Titans Point, why are the fucking Chinese involved?”

Fucking hell, I needed someone to draw me a flowchart or a stick figure diagram to keep all this shit straight.

“Oil,” Zane grunted. “The Chinese are content killing us slowly. Communism doesn’t have to worry about power switching sides every four years, so they can play the long game and kill us financially by flooding our markets with goods, wiping out US manufacturing. They’ll build and sell us chips and transformers with backdoors, then turn around and sell access to our enemies. They’ll supply the military industrial complex anything they need, and they’ll find a way to screw us with that, too. But they do not want military engagement. However, they want Russian oil. So when Russia says they want America’s intel—all of it—and promise to keep that oil flowing on the cheap, the Chinese jump. They get a friendly president and stay in Russia’s good graces.”

I looked at Easton, who looked about as unhappy as I felt.

“Did Jun De buckle and confirm the Russians are involved under Cash’s precision placement of the patches?”

Derrika’s question was met with Cash flipping her off.

“As of an hour ago, Jun De is enjoying freshly placed patches and impressively remaining silent through his cock and ball torture,” Lore told her.

“Don’t forget the taint,” Derrika added. “I heard the taint is a very sensitive, special place.”

Fuck, the woman was funny.

“Ha. You’re hilarious.”

“Aw, thanks, Cashy.”

Lore snickered, and Cash turned in her direction. “Your ass is gonna pay for that later.”

“Promises. Promises.”